he said as he immediately set down next to Ashley. “Your daughter?” he asked, and only then did I notice that I was stroking Ashley’s hair to calm her down. I lifted my hand up.“No, no. We were just caught out there. We found her.”“He saved my life, Daddy,” Marilyn announced. Her Dad shot a look at me.“Well, I suppose I must thank you for that,” he said as he rummaged out a syringe and needle from his briefcase. “But you keep to yourself. Marilyn knows we have strict rules about dating, don't you young lady?" Young lady? Marilyn was my age, maybe even older. And dating? Seriously? Did they even know what was going on? Was he really worried I'd try to bang her in the backseat of my car? A forest, maybe, but not a car.Marilyn nodded, looking at the floor, and mumbled a "yes sir". She'd turned into an eleven year-old. Her father noticed her arm, still wrapped in a bandage. “Did you cut yourself again?”Marilyn nodded again, like a little girl reproached by her father. Her mother chimed in to me, “She’s so clumsy when it comes to scissors. Cuts herself all the time, poor girl."I pulled the sleeve of my sweatshirt down, making sure none of my scars showed. Didn't want anyone to know I was "clumsy" too.A quick injection and Ashley sucked in the air through gritted teeth. “There,”
